'Prevent' funds are not going to radicals

I am sure that neither yourselves nor the Taxpayers' Alliance intended to suggest that anti-terror funding was going only to "radicals". That term could certainly not be applied to the Three Faiths Forum's "Faith and Fashion" programme, which works with young Muslim women from traditional Islamic girls' schools.

While the report highlights that the Government's current focus on preventing radical extremism may be misdirected, there is the point that significant funding for Muslim community work is now channeled primarily through Prevent.

Consequently, the Three Faiths Forum and other interfaith and Muslim community organisations have had to apply through Prevent for support for ongoing and positive projects. It is our view that radicalisation and segregation can best be prevented by providing a space where young people can retain their own identity while exploring that of "the other" and how to relate to them.

Wanting to be part of, and being accepted by, the wider society is the best way to counter polarising influences.

Stephen Shashoua
Thee Faiths Forum,
Grafton Road,
London NW5

Published in the Jewish Chronicle 18th September 2009